Lord Mayor of London to visit India with high-level delegation to boost fintech links

The Lord Mayor of London, global ambassador for the UK’s financial and professional services industry, is to visit India at the head of a business delegation from 7 to 12 October 2018 to strengthen trade links with the City of London.

Lord Mayor Charles Bowman will travel to Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi for meetings with senior government and industry leaders. He will be accompanied by representatives from 11 UK fintech firms (see below for the full list) as well as Lord Mayor elect Alderman Peter Estlin.

Lord Mayor Bowman, the 690th incumbent of a role that dates back centuries, is the leader of London’s ‘Square Mile,’ or financial district, and has visited some 27 countries over the course of his year in office. Charles Bowman is an accountant by profession and is a Senior Partner at PwC in London.

His visit to India aims to increase ties in fintech, and follows work by the City of London Corporation with the UK government and the Indian High Commission in London on a number of programmes, including Access India, which works to support UK SMEs expanding into the country.

Lord Mayor of London Charles Bowman said:

“The UK and India enjoy a strong and enduring relationship that continues to reap results in many areas including finance and commerce.

“India is the fourth largest foreign investor in the UK, and ties between our two countries are growing. But there is so much more we can do together, particularly in the area of fintech, where UK expertise perfectly matches the needs of India’s growing digital market.

“Travelling with me on this visit are some of the best and brightest fintech firms the UK has to offer, and I can’t wait to see them fly the flag for UK industry.”

Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox MP said:

“Trade between the UK and India has risen by 19% to £18.8bn but there is still enormous potential to expand this relationship even further. This is particularly true for areas like fintech where Britain is a world leader – last year alone, the UK secured more tech venture capital investment than Germany, France, Spain and Ireland combined.

“I’m delighted to see the Lord Mayor leading this delegation of innovative and ambitious UK firms on a trade mission to India and my international economic department is committed to working with key partners like the City of London to champion free trade across the globe.”

India’s High Commissioner to the UK, HE YK Sinha said:

“The Lord Mayor’s visit to India comes at a very opportune time, given the ever strengthening bilateral ties between our two countries.“Our collaboration in cutting -edge technologies, financial services and fintech has been particularly noteworthy. Moreover, London will always remain a global financial hub.

“I am sanguine that the visit will further enhance these invaluable links, particularly in the fintech sector.”

The City Corporation has a longstanding programme of work in India, and opened a representative office in Mumbai ten years ago. Around 10-15 Indian financial firms are based in the Square Mile which the City Corporation works closely with, and there are many more based across London.

The Lord Mayor will be tweeting from @CityLordMayor during his visit.

During the visit the Lord Mayor will also announce that a Scholarship will be awarded to one exceptional student as part of the Mansion House Scholarship Scheme. This award will be the fourth scholarship issued in India since the scheme began.

ENDS

List of firms on delegation

Business champion: Louise Brett, Lead Fintech Partner for Deloitte UK & North West Europe

Chainvine

Global Processing Services

iProov

Onfido

PESB

R5FX

Salary Fits

Skyline Partners

Worldpay

Wrisk

Notes to editors

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK. www.cityoflondon.gov.uk